Unexpected Song
by Shining Zephyr
Summary: First one-shot sequel to 'The Guardian's Song.' "Mental scars are far harder to heal than physical ones." -Phantom Shade


**I don't know how I managed to get this one out of Shining. She's sleeping somewhere. You'll have to bear with her. This one was sad for her to write. **

**_Sequel to "The Guardian's Song." If you haven't read it, then please do. For our own sanity. _**

**We don't own Danny Phantom, but we own the plot of the prequel to this.**

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Unexpected Song 

It was quiet in the Amity Park Cemetery as a man walked towards the grave, a lone rose in his hand. It was blood-red, just like the bloodstain in the park. A lot of flowers had been placed on the person's grave, yet the marble slab tombstone could still be seen. Granted, it was a very large slab of a rock, but still… On the piece, it read:

_Here lies Daniel James Fenton  
__April 17, 1991__ – __January 21, 2007  
__Gone but not forgotten  
__Loved and cherished as a teenager  
__"Quote the Raven, 'Nevermore'" _

The man stood there, fingering his rose, a blank expression on his face. His silver hair had grown longer over the past five years. It was only half-up in a ponytail now, his blue eyes staring down at the marble stone with disgusted remorse. His suit seemed business perfect, but his facial features of age lines proved otherwise. He bent down and put the rose in the middle of the grave.

He got back up and stared at the marble tombstone. "It hasn't exactly been the same without you, Daniel," he smirked, trying to sound nonchalant. "I can't go anywhere and get evil looks from Samantha and your friends. Your sister has managed to convince the city that my ghostly counterpart is a wretched beast. And I haven't been seen for the past seven months.

"You're haunting me, Daniel. Like a ghost I can't get to go away."

"Funny. I haven't been in the human world for five years, Vlad."

Vlad Masters felt a shiver run down his spine That voice- that cool, cocky sixteen year old voice of a lost teenager who had died five years ago. It was he who had ended it, anyways.

The figure materialized in front of him. It seemed like he hadn't really changed much.

Okay, scratch that thought. He had changed a _lot._

His hair was messy, one strand of it having green blood. His outfit was still torn, mainly because he couldn't morph anymore. He had cuts and bruises all over his body. His nose was crooked from being broken again, his left arm slightly hanging by his side. There was green, dry blood on the left side of his face. Soft emerald eyes stared into Vlad's icy blue ones. "Five years, Vlad. And you don't give a damn about me still."

The bachelor took a step back in surprise. "What the- Daniel?"

Danny Phantom's right hand went up to his left arm, wincing slightly. "That day you killed me, Plasmius… I was forced to leave my human body. The relentless attacks you threw me were enough to make my human self die. My ghost self could live as a broken and free soul, but it would forever be ravaged by the self-inflicted wounds I gave myself."

He simply smirked at this. "But it made my life easier. I no longer had to deal with you and your incessant ramblings about not having a reason to live."

Phantom continued to stare at Vlad, sadness shining in his eyes. "Is that true? Or did you kill me because I simply told you the truth about your life?"

Vlad clenched up. "Shut up."

"Vlad, I have to ask you this. What have you accomplished in your life since that day?"

The bachelor's eyes narrowed. "Why do you care, Daniel? It doesn't affect your life. Oh, wait. That's right. You don't _have one!" _

Tears leaked out of Phantom's eyes. "Just answer the question."

"Well, your sister hates both sides of me, Maddie and Jack are on a manhunt for my ghost side, and the ghosts attacks aren't very often any more."

"So, you learned _nothing_ from the day you killed me?"

That shut Vlad's mouth.

Phantom merely floated there, watching Vlad's face turn from one of annoyance to one of blank shock. He ducked his head slightly. "Look, Vlad… I know you were trying to do some goodness for yourself in order to make your life easier, but you never thought about the people who you would affect. I'm not sure if you noticed, but the reason I haven't been here is because… well, Mom and Dad."

"What would you know about them?" Vlad asked, anger flaring up again.

"I know every time they think about me, Phantom, they suddenly have a memory of Danny Fenton ripping through their heart. Jazz told them that Danny and Phantom were one of the same. I want to show up to them some day, but I feel like it's going to be hell on earth when they see me. I'd love to tell them how you murdered me. I'd like to tell them everything, but I can't."

Vlad said nothing.

"I just want to tell you to take back your rose, Vlad. I see yo really don't care about me. I don't think you ever did. You only wanted a son to claim your inheritance, but I didn't want to be that person. You tried too hard, Vlad. And in the end, it wasn't me that failed. It was _you." _

The bachelor looked at Phantom, fire in his eyes. "How _dare_ you!" he hissed, two black rings appearing around his waist. The white cape appeared, the red collar, the muscular frame of a forty-five year old ghost that had not been seen in five years. Vlad Plasmius glared at Phantom. "I never failed! _Never!" _

Phantom didn't move. "I'm not going to fight you, Plasmius. I didn't come here to fight you."

"Then why are you here?!"

Phantom looked at the flower bush that now lay on top of his grave. "I don't know. I miss Amity Park, Plasmius. I would come back here all the time if I could, but I can't. Life moves on when someone is dead. I only wish the same could be said about me. I didn't move on. I'm simply a lost soul, waiting for someone to actually care about me."

Plasmius blinked. "What?"

"Look at me," he told him softly, shrugging his right shoulder. "Who wants to care for a beaten down ghost who was murdered by the mayor of the city? I can't go to my parents- I remind them too much of my human self. I can't go to Sam- I remind her too much of her love for Danny Fenton. I can't even go to Tucker- he's too reminded by the haunted look on my face when I died.

"Can't go to Valerie- she still hates me. Can't go to Jazz- she'll think she's hallucinating and seeing Phantom come back permanently." He closed his eyes. "And I will never go to you."

Plasmius' hands were alight.

"What are you going to do, Vlad? You going to put me through more pain than usual? I can't die. I'm a ghost now. If you're going to hurt me… do it fast."

He was _inviting_ him to hurt his body?

"Well? I'm waiting. Just…" He floated down to the ground, knees buckling under him. "Just finish me. What good am I if I'm just a crippled ghost who can't even fend for himself in the ghost zone?" Angry tears began to flow down his face. "You killed me once before. I don't doubt you can hurt me more than ever, Plasmius. God, just… just go ahead! Finish me, you fruit loop!"

Phantom's real intention wasn't to be hurt or killed or destroyed again. In all seriousness, it was a ruse. It was an honest-to-god ruse to make Plasmius think about what he had done. And he had no clue if it was working, but maybe it'd come through to Plasmius' thick skull that what he had done was wrong.

Plasmius' hand went into the air…

…and slammed into the ground next to Phantom.

He merely stood there for a moment, hand buried in the ground. He bit his lip. 'I'm _not_ going to cry,' he thought angrily.

His gaze turned to Phantom. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he whispered.

The broken teen's eyes gazed into Plasmius' infuriated ones. "You have the capacity to kill, don't you? You have the capacity to inflict physical damage on the one you hate and despise and also the ones you love. You're nothing but a lost man, wandering in the dark, trying to search for the light. Aren't you going to inflict more wounds and damage upon me?"

Plasmius' heart practically stopped beating. Lost… in the darkness…?

"If you're going to hurt me more, you may as well do it now."

The man stopped and stood up, taking his fist out of the ground and morphing. Vlad stood there, staring down at Phantom. "No."

"What?"

Vlad turned away. "I can't, Daniel. I can't bring myself to do it. I can't bring myself to hurt you."

Phantom secretly smiled to himself, but his voice betrayed his looks. "I thought you…"

Vlad whirled around, getting on his hands and knees, now at eye level with the teen ghost. "Did you not hear me? I can't hurt you!"

"Why?"

Vlad couldn't answer that question. He stared at the dirt for a moment before finally answering, "I… I don't know… I just… I can't bring myself to…"

"Are we feeling remorse, Vlad?" Phantom asked quietly, not a trace of humor in his tone.

Vlad glared at him. "Never, you insignificant speck of ectoplasm."

The boy merely nodded. He stood up slightly and stared at Vlad. "You're never going to learn. I tried to tell you it before, but you just don't want to listen, Vlad. You're nothing but a lost man, wandering in the dark, trying to search for the light. And until you realize what I said five years ago, it's going to stay that way for a long time."

And suddenly, the boy's figure disappeared without a trace.

Vlad merely hunched there on the ground, feeling a lone tear leak out of his eye. He quickly wiped it away, standing up and glancing at the marbled tombstone.

"Truth is, Daniel…"

He took a deep breath.

"I can't ever forgive myself for what I did to you. It was wonderful at first, but with you gone… I really don't think there's a reason for me to live anymore."

He allowed himself a very slight smile.

"How you managed to make me feel like that, I don't think I'll ever remember."

He turned away from the grave and began to walk home.

In reality, what Daniel had said was true. It was not Daniel who had failed… but it was himself.

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**Um, yes. I can't believe I tried to write this. Angsty? Perhaps. I might've done slight justice to Danny. What do you all think? Reviews are enjoyed. Thanks for reading. **

**_By the way, happy belated to Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare. _**


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